FAFSA custody confusion - which parent when one refuses to participate?

This is a common situation with the FAFSA! For dependent students, the parent who should complete the FAFSA is determined by where the student lived most during the past 12 months. If your daughter lived with you more than 50% of the time, then YOU are the parent who should complete the FAFSA - regardless of who makes more money. The other parent's refusal to participate doesn't matter because they aren't required to be on the form at all if your daughter primarily lived with you.

Im in a similar boat!!! my ex makes like 3x what i do but my son lives w me almost 100% of time. we put just my info on FAFSA and got pretty decent aid package. they only care about household where kid actually lives not who makes more $$$

@profile3 So if she lived with me full-time, but her dad claims her on his taxes (which he does even though I don't think he should be allowed to), does that affect anything with the FAFSA?

my daughters father said the same thing about college being pointless and refused to help with any paperwork. we still got her through school!!! you can do this mama!!!

For the 2024-2025 FAFSA, this has become even clearer with the new FAFSA Simplification Act. The student will list the parent they lived with most during the 12 months before filing. If equal time with both parents, then it's the parent who provided more financial support. If your daughter primarily lived with you, you are the contributor parent for FAFSA purposes. Also, make sure you understand that FAFSA now calculates a Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the old EFC. This means even with your lower income, your daughter might not qualify for as much need-based aid as you're expecting, depending on your specific financial situation. Have her apply for lots of scholarships too!

Be careful here. If you were never LEGALLY designated as having primary custody (through court documents), this can get complicated. The other parent might be contacted during verification. You might want to prepare documentation showing your daughter lived with you most of the time - school records, medical records, etc. just in case your application gets flagged for verification.

When i did my fafsa they made me put my dads information even tho i hadnt lived with him in years!!!! the whole system is so messed up and i had to appeal with like a million documents. make sure you get proof of where she lived ready just in case

I had a nightmare getting through to anyone at Federal Student Aid when we had a similar situation with my stepdaughter's FAFSA last year. After weeks of trying, I found a service called Claimyr that got me connected to a FAFSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/TbC8dZQWYNQ and their website is claimyr.com. The agent helped us document that my stepdaughter lived with us rather than her biological mom who wasn't participating in the process. Saved us so much hassle!

honestly just put ur info down and don't overthink it. the fafsa people aren't gonna track down ur ex and force him to participate lol

To summarize for anyone with a similar situation: 1. For FAFSA purposes, the parent who should complete the form is determined by where the student lived most during the past 12 months 2. If the student lived more than 50% with one parent, that parent completes the FAFSA 3. The other parent's income is irrelevant if they don't live in the same household 4. Who claims the student on taxes doesn't affect which parent completes the FAFSA 5. Having documentation ready (school records, medical records showing address) is wise in case of verification 6. For the new 2024-2025 FAFSA, you'll be determining the "contributor" parent using these same residency rules

Just wanted to add one more reassuring point - I work at a college financial aid office and see this exact situation frequently. When a student has lived primarily with one parent for years (like your daughter has with you), it's actually one of the clearest FAFSA scenarios we deal with. You're absolutely doing the right thing by using your information as the contributor parent. One tip: when you complete the FAFSA, there's a section where you can provide additional context about your family's circumstances. Consider briefly noting that your daughter's other parent is not involved in her education or living situation. This can be helpful context if your application gets selected for verification. Also, make sure your daughter applies to schools that meet full demonstrated need if possible - with your income level, she could qualify for significant need-based aid at many institutions.